


Mama Baird

by luladannys



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Gen, Mother's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-08
Updated: 2015-05-10
Packaged: 2018-03-29 12:59:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3897241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luladannys/pseuds/luladannys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four times the Librarians called Baird "Mom".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Jake

**Author's Note:**

> One chapter a day for the next three days -- nothing but dumb fluff.

With four Librarians under her care, Baird often felt pulled too thin. Technically, the Library had only tasked her with protecting Flynn, but in the Guardian's eyes, they were all hers.

Today was one of those days where Baird felt like she was playing tug-of-war with herself. Cassandra had scurried in through the Back Door that morning with manic eyes and ragged breathing. Once calming down, she explained that there was a magical ruby that needed to be collected from a nest...a gryphon's nest.

Ezekiel appeared from seemingly nowhere, having never stolen anything from a half-bird, half-lion before and more than happy to try it out.

Flynn was otherwise occupied in the Library, so Baird decided to go with them. Just as the three were about to leave, Flynn and Jake entered from the Library, carrying several books each and chatting excitedly.

"Where are you going?" Flynn asked once he noticed the group by the Back Door.

"Gryphon in the Rocky Mountains," Baird replied, and then gestured towards the satchel across Flynn's body. "Where are _you_ going?"

"Blizzard in the Sahara."

This was one of those moments where the Guardian felt stretched out. Two equally weird, potentially dangerous jobs and only one of her to protect all the Librarians. Baird made a mental note to talk to Jenkins about the magical possibility of being in two places at once.

Flynn seemed to notice the stress she was feeling and quickly dumped his books into Jake's unready arms to grasp her hands in his.

"Go on with them. Stone and I will be fine."

Jake, after setting the stack of books on the table, went to stand behind Flynn's shoulder. He crossed his arms over his chest and met Baird's eyes with a silent promise. She gave in. If it were up to her, of course, none of the Librarians would step out into the unknown without her, but if any of them had the potential to double as a Guardian, it was Stone -- when he was thinking with more than just his fists.

Flynn lifted one of her hands to his lips softly and she then returned to Cassandra and Ezekiel, who had already prepared the Back Door.

"Be careful," Baird said to both of them, then strictly to Flynn, "Come back alive, Librarian."

He smiled. "I always do, don't I?"

Cassandra and Ezekiel bade their fellow Librarians farewell and pulled open the Back Door to the green expanse of the Rocky Mountains.

"Dress warmly. And check in!" ordered Baird.

Jake sighed and rolled his eyes. _"Yes, Mom."_

"What did y-"

Her angry reply was cut off by Cassandra and Ezekiel each grabbing an arm and pulling her through the Back Door.


	2. Cassandra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all of the support on the first part! :)

Nothing made Baird feel worse than when one of her Librarians was in pain and there was nothing she could do about it.

They -- Baird, Flynn, and Cassandra -- were in Wales, currently stuck in a room that seemingly had no door. The walls were made of gray bricks, which Flynn was thoroughly examining, and the floor, where Cassandra laid unconscious with her head and shoulders on Baird's lap, was cold.

When Morgan le Fay had locked the trio in the room, she had tapped a pattern into the bricks, but neither Flynn nor Baird had paid attention to it. They had been too busy trying to break free from the suits of armor that the sorceress had brought to life to subdue them because one of them had broken Cassandra's arm. Morgan smirked at the cry of pain the young Librarian let out as the three were unceremoniously dumped onto the hard floor, then waved her hand to seal the wall back up.

Escaping hadn't even crossed Flynn and Baird's minds for a few minutes. All they cared about was the small body curled on the floor. As soon as Baird began to set the broken bone, Cassandra passed out. Baird and Flynn then used their jackets to hold it in place and create a sling for her. With that taken care of, they set to work trying to find a way out. Their cell phones weren't working, probably thanks to Morgan, so they couldn't call for backup from Jenkins or the other two Librarians.

After a while, Flynn was uselessly prodding at bricks while Baird sent herself on a guilt trip.

Cassandra stirred, but did not fully awake. Baird gently stroked back some locks of red hair.

"Mom?"

It was soft, softer than a whisper, but Baird knew that Flynn had heard it, too. She usually let out a huff of offense when anyone inferred that she had some sort of maternal connection to the LITs. There was no way she was old enough to have had any of them. But this... This was different. Baird would do anything for her charges and if that meant playing the motherly figure right now, then so be it.

"It's Baird, Cassandra. Flynn's here, too. We're here."

Cassandra made a sound somewhere between a groan and a sigh as her body curled closer to her Guardian. With one hand, Baird resumed her soft touches to Cassandra's hair and grabbed the small, pale hand nearest to her with the other.

"Mom, it hurts."

Tears blurred Baird's vision, but she made no movement to wipe them away.

"I know, honey, I know. Just hold on, alright?"

_Honey_. The endearment had slid off of her tongue without thought. Never once had Baird referred to Cassandra (or Stone, or Jones, or even Flynn) as anything like that, yet, somehow, it felt almost second nature, like how she could put together a gun without even looking at it.

Still in her half-conscious state, Cassandra began to mumble. Her hands wanted flick around at the air, but she found one to be trapped against her body in the sling and frowned. Baird made soothing noises to try to calm her down.

"Twelve, nineteen... Ten, sixteen... Eight, nineteen..."

Flynn came over and kneeled beside Baird as Cassandra muttered pairings of numbers. Then, he looked back over his shoulder at the bricks and let out a triumphant laugh.

"She's got the pattern! The wall is a grid and she's giving us the pattern!"

"Cassandra, do you think you could start over for us?" Baird asked.

As she repeated them, Flynn noticed the pattern created an Arthurian rune -- the one for power. When he touched the last brick, the opening in the wall reappeared.

"Great job, Cassandra!" Flynn exclaimed. "Now let's get out of here!"

With the help of Baird, he gently lifted Cassandra into his arms so that the Guardian could lead the way with her weapon at the ready. Morgan le Fay had hurt one of her Librarians and the next chance Baird got to put a bullet in the sorceress, she was going to take it.


	3. Ezekiel

Ezekiel tried in vain to remember what exactly Jenkins had them about trolls. The fact that he was currently bound and gagged while some prepared a spit to roast him over was really messing with his memory.

Just outside of the little campfire the trolls had set up, Ezekiel noticed Jake and Cassandra sneaking around. Cassandra pointed towards the direction the trio had come from and then made a gun gesture with her fingers.

Baird.

They were going to get Baird.

He just had to stay alive long enough for her to get there. He could do that. Improvisation was one of his greatest skills, after all.

Ezekiel took a moment to clear his head. He closed his eyes so he wouldn't see the pair of trolls readying for his death. The heat from the growing fire still warmed him and he could hear its crackling. _Focus, focus, focus._

Stories!

That was what Jenkins had said. Trolls loved stories.

The gag in his mouth had been shoved in there pretty well and it tasted oddly sour. Ezekiel honestly didn't want to know what exactly it was. He would just swallow some hand sanitizer whenever he got out of this.

Trying to push it out with his tongue was useless, not to mention disgusting. Finally, in an act of desperation as the trolls had nearly finished assembling what looked like a ye old rotisserie, Ezekiel just began shaking his head back and forth violently to try to dislodge the gag.

One of the trolls took notice and leaned over him, a thoroughly curious look on his face.

"He want talk," he said to his friend.

The second troll, seemingly the one in charge, stomped over and plucked the gag out of their captive's mouth. Ezekiel worked his sore jaw around a few times.

"Hey, there, mates," he said uneasily. "Anyone fancy a story before we move onto dinner?"

The trolls, whom Ezekiel had now named Old Mayo and Hot Dumpster in his head based on their respective smells, shared a glance and then sat down, the ground rumbling beneath them as they did so.

Ezekiel took a deep breath. "Once upon a time, there was a girl who had an awful stepmother and two stepsisters that tr-"

"Know that one," Hot Dumpster said.

"That's okay!" Ezekiel replied hurriedly. "I know more! Once upon a time, there was a princess who had been locked away in a tall, tall tower and her ha-"

"Know that one."

Old Mayo clapped his hands. It sounded like thunder. "Tell Red! Red!"

Hot Dumpster smacked him loudly. "No. New story." He then looked at Ezekiel. "New story or we eat."

New story.

_New story, new story, new story..._

The trolls began to stand.

"No, no, no! New story! I've got a new story!"

They sat back down and Ezekiel fidgeted, which was very hard due to his wrists and legs being bound, into a straighter sitting position to tell his story.

"Once upon a time, there was a family that worked in a library. Th-"

"Libary? What libary?" asked Old Mayo.

"It's a place full of books."

"Don't like books."

"Well, that's ironic seeing as how you seem to love stories so much," Ezekiel muttered under his breath.

He felt two pairs of enormous eyes boring into him. Okay, so they were imbeciles, but apparently they could tell when he was speaking badly of them. That was something to take note of.

"The family went on great adventures together. There was the youngest brother, who was handsome and awesome, awesome beyond compare. The sister was the sweetest, smartest, bravest person in the world. The older brother was alright. He was pretty smart, too, I suppose. A real pain in the ass, though. The father was a great adventurer. He was kind of weird, but in an endearing way an-"

Ezekiel paused, having heard a rustling in the bushes nearby. The cavalry had come. He couldn't help the smile that pulled at his lips.

"What about mom?" Hot Dumpster asked. They were both too engrossed in Ezekiel's tale to take note of what was going on.

"The mom?" Ezekiel repeated, the quick movement of Colonel Baird flashing across his peripheral. "The mom... _will kick your ass!_ "

Before the trolls even had an opportunity to comprehend what he had said, Baird scaled up Old Mayo's back and knocked the trolls' heads together. Now that they were dazed, the Guardian was able to jab a syringe into each of their necks.

"Tranquilizer," she explained, nudging the now unconscious Hot Dumpster with her foot. "Jenkins said bullets would be a waste of time. This should keep them out long enough until the sun comes up and turns them back into stone."

Jake and Cassandra hurried over to help untie Ezekiel.

Once their partner was freed, Jake smacked the back of his head. "That's for calling me a pain in the ass."

Cassandra pecked his cheek. "That's for all the nice things you said about me. And for staying alive."

Baird began to usher them out of the forest, very much like a duck or a hen...or any bird, really.

Ezekiel couldn't stop the chuckle that tumbled out of his mouth.

"What's so funny?" Baird asked.

"Mama Bird. Mama Baird."

"Stone, hit him again."


	4. Mother's Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading, commenting, & kudos-ing!  
> Happy Mother's Day!

The sound of clatter in the kitchen roused Baird from her sleep. She assumed it was Flynn, but then there were multiple hushed voices. That got her right out of bed.

Reaching the end of the hall, she dropped her defensive stance once she realized that the intruders were just the other three Librarians.

"What are you doing?"

All three of them turned upon hearing her voice.

Cassandra lifted the carton of eggs she was holding. "Breakfast in bed?"

"And you really thought it would be a good idea to break into the home of a person you know owns a gun?" Baird asked, not being broken down by Cassandra's sweetness.

"I'd never be stupid enough to break into your place," Ezekiel said. "Flynn let us in."

"He _what?_ "

As if on cue, the front door opened and Flynn entered carrying a paper grocery store bag. He stopped mid-stride as he noticed her standing there not particularly amused.

"Can someone please tell me _what the hell_ is going on in my apartment today?"

The young Librarians glanced at each other, then Jake sighed and handed Baird a purple envelope. Inside was a card decorated with sunflowers and the words: Happy Mother's Day.

She eyed them over the top of the card. They gestured for her to keep reading.

On the inside of the card, Baird identified the distinctive handwriting of each of them.

Cassandra's delicate scrawl read: _Thank you for always looking out for us, especially when you didn't have to. Sorry if I don't always appreciate it._

Jake's section said: _Thanks for all the times you've saved our asses and all the times you will in the future. I don't think any of us could ask for a better Guardian._

Ezekiel's message was the shortest, for which Baird was thankful because his handwriting was atrocious. It simply said: _Colonel Baird, you're awesome. :)_

That was high praise coming from Ezekiel Jones. Baird felt her throat constrict a little bit and fought against the tears pricking the backs of her eyes. If she cried at this, then she really would be a mom.

"Thank you," she said, her voice wavering ever so slightly to betray the composure she had mustered up.

Flynn set down the groceries he had brought in and began shooing Baird back down the hall.

"Can't have breakfast in bed if you're not in bed!"

She still felt weird about having three grown adults making her breakfast, but clambered back under the covers anyway, after standing the card up on her nightstand. Flynn sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned over to kiss her.

"Was this your idea?" she asked.

"No, I just helped facilitate it. I thought it was sweet. Do you like it?"

She wanted to say that she hated it, but she couldn't. Those three Librarians currently making a mess of her kitchen had weaseled their way into her heart. Besides, Jake and Ezekiel's mothers were both deceased and Cassandra's mother was a person that Baird honestly hoped that she would never meet. Baird knew she was the closest thing to a maternal figure any of them had had in a long time. Being considered their "mom" had been an offensive thing to her at first, but it had grown on her.

"I love it."


End file.
